Chances are, you’ve probably taken a photo in your life. Unless you’re from the 1700’s, you’ve had a camera phone, or even a digital camera before. But what marks the difference between a picture on your phone and professional photography? Mainly, how you’re taking the photo.

You have probably figured out that taking a picture is more than just snapping a quick photo without thought. Lots of thought goes into picture taking, basically deciding on a subject and then working on the composition. This doesn’t mean that quick pictures aren’t quality pictures, but well thought out pictures have a lot more depth in them. Depth in a photo provokes the viewer to think about it. And isn’t the main purpose of art to make others think about what you’ve created?

Choosing a subject is relatively easy. Whether it’s a building, a flower in a garden, or even just a friend, it’s the easier half of composing a picture. The harder part has to do with lighting, framing,emotion, etc. Make sure the way your photo is set up flows well, and attracts attention. Try to use normal photography means of composition, like the rule of thirds, and make sure there isn’t too much or too little lighting.

Most all of all, while you’re taking the photo, think of one thing: is the picture conveying the thoughts and emotions you want it to?

Many different artistic mediums exist. But which one is for you? Before you decide what what you want to make, what do you want to make it with?

One type is physical – like drawing or painting. Tools for this can be acrylic paint, watercolors, even just a pencil. This is the most common, since t’s something you’ve probably done all our life. There is also the option of mixed media, which would be a combination of two or more different mediums.

Three dimensional artistic mediums exist, too. Architecture is a genuine career as well as a type of art. Ceramics are also an easy access activity, via pottery classes. Sculpture is perhaps the most well known, due to the various amounts of materials you could use. Whether you’re carving a sculpture out of stone or making an ice sculpture, there’s something for you.

The digital art category contains more commonly and easily accessible art mediums. Photography is by far the most used, due to the fact that most people have a camera on their phones. Photography is a way to capture a moment, whether it be sightseeing, spending time with loved ones, or anything else that catches your eye. A more movable version of pictures are videos. Videos do what pictures can, but can be used for so much more, like making documentaries, or movies.

Another form of digital media is graphic design. Graphic design can take the form of images or animation. Animation is basically just like video, except it’s illustrations. Also, you could take a drawing you’ve made and make it into graphic design.

Whatever medium you decide on, take into mind what project you’ll be doing with it.

Relatively, painting is easy. Anyone technically can do it. But, what’s hard about it is the technical aspect, and coming up with an idea. It’s easy to just paint whatever when you have the skill, but harder to come up with a masterpiece.

Somewhere great to look for inspiration of painting a genuine piece is classic paintings. What makes classic paintings so eye catching and interesting? Is it the color, texture, mood or theme? Maybe it’s just what the subject is.

What’s important is that your art reflects an original and all together individual thought. When you look to classic paintings for inspiration, you should just be taking inspiration from aspects of the painting. Art is originality, not copying. Think about individual aspects of the following pictures and try to tie them into your next painting.

Have you ever watched a Disney movie and wondered what your favorite characters would look like as humans? Well you don’t have to anymore. Alaina, an art student from the US, has done this herself. Taking characters from movies such as Lady and The Tramp, The Aristocats, and The Jungle Book, Alaina (s0alaina on deviantart) has taken something as simple as animated characters and made it her own piece.

This is how easily an idea can come to you -just from animated films. Although it doesn’t seem necessarily simple, just imagine it. Take the features from your favorite animated character, and transfer them into human features. It doesn’t have to be from a Disney movie.

The best thing about this idea is that it’s all your own. Take inspiration from anything. It doesn’t even have to be a character from a movie. They can be a from a TV show, from a book, maybe even from your favorite piece of art. It’s all up to you.